The calmest swimming beaches in Costa Blanca

Calm water is the quiet luxury of a beach day, and it costs nothing to find on the Costa Blanca if you know where to look. The coves and bays that sit in the lee of a headland or behind a breakwater stay sheltered from the prevailing wind, so the water is gentle, the entry shelves slowly and the swim feels safe even with children. These are also, conveniently, some of the cheapest beaches on the coast, free to enter with the only spend a parasol or a lunch you choose to buy.

We have ranked the beaches below for genuine shelter and a gentle swim rather than for postcard drama. The most sheltered are the small northern coves protected by cliffs and the long town beaches tucked behind harbours and breakwaters. The open coves can be beautiful and clear but they catch more swell, so on a windy day the calm spots are worth the short extra drive.

If you take one line from this page, take this one. For the gentlest, clearest swim head to Cala del Portet or the sheltered Ampolla town beach at Moraira, both free, and use the long sandy bays at Benidorm and Alicante when you want calm water with full facilities and a tram or a bus instead of a parking charge.

Calm here is typical, not guaranteed, and the wind decides the day. The Costa Blanca mostly faces east and southeast, so an onshore breeze can put a little chop and shorebreak on even the sheltered beaches by the afternoon. The early hours are almost always the calmest and clearest, which is the cheap and easy fix, so plan your gentlest swims for the morning and keep the afternoon for the promenade or a shaded lunch.

Know the difference between calm and clear. The open pebble coves at Cala Granadella and Cala del Moraig have the clearest, most turquoise water on the coast, but they are deeper and more exposed, so they are wonderful for confident swimmers and snorkellers on a still day and less suited to small children. The sheltered coves and town beaches trade a little of that clarity for genuinely gentle, shallow water, which is the safer feeling swim.

The smart cheap move, as ever, is timing and a parasol. All the calm beaches here are free to enter, so your only real costs are parking and shade. Come in the shoulder months or early in the day for the calmest water and easy free parking, bring your own umbrella, and you have the gentlest swims on the coast for almost nothing. Always follow the daily flags and swim within the patrolled zones where they exist.

A beach restaurant or a serviced stretch makes a calm water day comfortable, with sunbeds, shade and lunch close to a gentle swim, though a parasol you bring yourself keeps the day cheaper. The sheltered town beaches at Moraira, Benidorm, Javea and Alicante carry the most choice, from simple beach bars to smarter setups. We never invent a venue, a minimum spend or an opening status, so anything we cannot confirm is marked to be confirmed. Browse the directory and send one enquiry to check your date.